


You've Been A Long, Long Time

by spacestationwedding



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, Fix-It, M/M, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23209294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacestationwedding/pseuds/spacestationwedding
Summary: Steve frowned, finally dropping the shield and pulling the cowl back. “But what more did I have to lose?”Bucky hated that, feeling bad for those who had lost. He supposed he had lost too- five years of time had gone by without his notice, and it was just a little too familiar for him.“Don’t- it’s okay now. We’re okay.”
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 6
Kudos: 88





	You've Been A Long, Long Time

**Author's Note:**

> watched endgame again. cried again. got mad at steve and bucky's ending again. finally wrote something for this fandom again. here's a bandaid to put over the giant hole that movie left in my heart.

They won. It was a fight they initially lost, and then some were immediately thrown back into, but in the end, they won. Bucky had gotten out with a few bruises and soreness, with a nasty cut under his right collarbone. Not bad for his second- or third?- chance at life. 

After coughing out the dust of his final enemy, after the remaining heroes knelt in honor of the man that had saved them all, and after they began reuniting with one another, Bucky could breathe again. There he was, broken shield on his arm and Thor’s hammer in the other hand. His face was covered in tear-streaked grime. His shoulders were lopsided, reminiscent of the crooked spine Bucky could remember from nearly a century ago. Still, he was alive. They were both alive, and there wasn’t a fight anymore. They were free. 

Bucky trudged up, his rifle slung over his shoulder. There were others around, hugging and crying alike, but he only had eyes for Steve. It wasn’t until they were a few feet apart that Steve’s eyes fell on him once more. The grief in his eyes quickly morphed into disbelief, and then a hopeful lift. 

“Buck?”

He smiled shyly, giving a soft, “Hey, Stevie,” in return. 

The hammer was dropped with a thud, and then Bucky was nearly toppled by Steve’s arms enveloping him. It felt good to have the now-familiar solidness of Steve so close to him. He couldn’t wait to go home, wherever that was. 

A sob wracked Steve’s back against his hands. Bucky realized, then, that their last hug had been hours ago for him and years ago for Steve. 

“It’s okay.” He murmured against the fabric of Captain America’s cowl. “It’s over, we’re okay.”

They were standing in the rubble of the Avenger’s compound and were several thousand miles from Bucky’s home in Wakanda. Which left the place Steve had in Brooklyn. He’d apparently snagged it after “the snap”, once he wasn’t a fugitive from the government. With a furrowed brow, he asked Bucky to go back there with him. 

As if he was going to say no. 

They found a magician- an honest-to-god magician, Bucky was always amazed by this century- who was letting people pass through portals to get back home. Steve gave the exact address, and on the other side of the ring of sparks was a red brick building. Hand-in-hand, they left the battlefield behind and stepped onto a quiet street.

It was more of an alley, which was why there weren’t people running and cheering and crying up and down like they were nearby. But there the apartment building was secluded and small and undoubtedly peaceful. 

“C’mon, Buck,” Steve tugged on his hand. “We gotta climb the fire escape. Left the window unlocked because I knew there was a chance I wasn’t gonna make it out with my keys.”

Always prepared. Bucky laughed, enjoying the smile Steve shared at the absurdity of it all. Steve gave him a boost up to the ladder, then jumped up after him like it was nothing. Together, they climbed up to the third floor and sure enough, the window was unlocked and undisturbed. 

“Incredibly unsafe, y’know,” he teased, straightening up once he made it inside the apartment. He immediately dropped the rifle onto the coffee table, emptying his pockets of his extra rounds and knives.

“I know,” Steve frowned, finally dropping the shield and pulling the cowl back. “But what more did I have to lose?”

Bucky hated that, feeling bad for those who had lost. He supposed he had lost too- five years of time had gone by without his notice, and it was just a little too familiar for him. 

“Don’t- it’s okay now. We’re okay.”

Steve straightened, with his suit pulled down to his hips. “Not all of us.”

Immediately, he wanted to put his foot in his mouth. They were mourning, of course, and were lucky to still be there. 

“I know, I’m sorry,” he closed the distance between them and took Steve’s face into his hands. “That’s not what I meant, I-”

Steve cut him off with a shake of his head. Blinking away fresh tears, he gave Bucky a sad smile. “It’s alright, honey. Do you want first shower?”

Surprised by the sudden shift, Bucky let his hips be held by Steve’s strong hands. The term of endearment and the hands on his body, were the first indications of the continuation of their previous relationship. Not that he assumed things would just go back to normal, given that Steve had probably grieved for him- maybe even moved on? He just didn’t know, and it would make sense to let him take the lead. 

“No, Steve. You can go ahead.”

The hands on his hips tightened, like he was scared Bucky was going to leave. 

“Maybe...together?” 

He couldn’t help the happy little sigh that escaped at the suggestion. 

“Together.”

A curl of lips, and then Steve was leaning in. It was soft and quick, salty from sweat and maybe a little gross from the grime on his face. But Bucky smiled into it, because this was what he’d wanted when he first saw Steve stepping off that quinjet in Wakanda before it all. They couldn’t, not in front of the others, but here, they were alone. 

It ended, and Steve immediately did a double-take when he looked at Bucky’s face after. “Why would you let me do that- Buck, you should have told me I’ve got shit on my face.” His thumb rubbed across Bucky’s cheek where they’d accidentally brushed. 

Rolling his eyes fondly, Bucky grabbed him by the shoulders and planted another one on his lips. “I don’t care, punk.”

Eventually, they made it into the bathroom. When the light flicked on, Bucky could see some traces of Steve littered about even in the metallics and fluorescents and glass. His towel crumpled on the sink, his shaving brush lying on its side, little bits of his space being lived in. 

He stood before the large mirror, surprised he wasn’t in as bad a state as Steve. His hair was going to be a bitch to untangle, but not impossible. Carefully, minding his bruises, he began stripping his own clothes away. Steve followed behind him much more quickly. With a soft smile shared through the reflection in the mirror, Steve stepped up and ran his fingers delicately down Bucky’s back and his new arm. 

A kiss was pressed to that spot on his neck, where the hair didn’t intrude but the metal hadn’t begun yet. “You’re hurt.”

It was just a statement. Rather a pointless one at that, because of course he was. Steve was as well, he could see evidence of that across his fully exposed body. It was a testimony of the battle, each of the different hits telling the same story. 

“Nothing I can’t handle.” He promised, leaning his head right to make space for more kisses. “C’mon, get the water going. Kiss me when you’ve washed your face.”

Steve huffed a laugh, but quickly moved to obey the teasing demand. His hands didn’t leave Bucky until they were both standing under the hot spray. The gentle curl of steam immediately made Bucky’s shoulders drop an inch from where they were tensed up. This was the only way to properly come home after a fight, he was convinced. Steve and a shower- he knew he’d be fine. 

Once all the dirt and dust was properly scrubbed away and they both smelled like an “Ocean Breeze”, Steve was immediately pressed all up against him once more. His sigh sounded less desolate than before. More like genuine contentment. 

“Missed you,” he mumbled. “Didn’t think I’d get you back for the longest time. Not again, not after….Buck, I don’t know what I would have done if we tried and it didn’t work.”

Again, he was struck by how much time had passed. It felt like every time he and Steve were reunited, Steve had grown so much and he was...stuck. Was Steve even the same person anymore? Could they just jump right back into it like nothing changed? Bucky was growing really tired of missing out on life with Steve. He resolved, right there, to never let their circumstances get between them. If that meant getting Steve to give up avenging for good, then so be it.

But that was something he could deal with later. At that moment, he needed to just be there with Steve and give him what he needed. 

“I know, Stevie. We made it through a lot.” The contact their bodies were making was becoming distracting, despite the heaviness of the mood. He could feel Steve’s heart, racing rhythmically under his palm. “I love you.”

The whispered confession drowned out the sounds of the water hitting the shower floor. Five years since Steve had heard him say it. He felt bad for making him wait even the hour since he’d been back from the dead. 

Steve looked up, face open with something like shock. His heart rate picked up noticeably under Bucky’s fingers, a fact that made him smirk with satisfaction. He didn’t need to hear it back, but when he did…

“I love you, too. End of the line, baby.” It made him melt, knowing that even though he was thrown into a world that wasn’t his own and made into someone he never wanted to be, that he still had Steve. What would he do, if he didn’t? How would he have been able to go on and make a happy life for himself without him? He couldn’t imagine it, didn’t want to. 

Finally, he let himself fully relax in Steve’s arms. They would take care of each other, he knew. Straightening to full height, Bucky pulled him into yet another kiss. Steve’s hands were in his hair, on his waist, moving to squeeze his hip. Like now that he had him, he was not going to let him go. 

Yeah, he thought to himself. They were going to be okay. 

  
  



End file.
